A Remarkable E-Journal Index

[Gerry Mckiernan]

                           _A Remarkable E-Journal Index_

    This weekend in reviewing the functionality of the _Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research_ (JAIR)  - an international electronic and print journal [ http://www.jair.org/] -   I discovered that it provides a most *remarkable*  index to its articles in what is called an "Information Space" 

      [ http://www.infoarch.ai.mit.edu/jair/jair-space.html ] . 

The Information Space is an applet that is automatically loaded upon visiting the address. The address 

         [  http://www.infoarch.ai.mit.edu/jair/jair-space.html ] 

also provides a description and details on  navigating the contents of JAIR.

Here's a textual description of the Information Space

QUOTE

  An information space is a type of information design in which representations of information objects are situated in a principled space. In a principled space location and direction have meaning, so that mapping and navigation become possible.

     Applying this terminology to this information space, we have yellow squares representing JAIR articles (the information objects) arranged according to two hierarchically constructed principles: first, the squares are within circles reflecting their categorization; and second, the circles are arranged so that categories which are more  similar are closer together. The metric used to determine pairwise similarity is the number of articles judged to be appropriate for both categories, although only one category is assigned each article for the visualization. The visualization behaves as information map, providing a survey view of the relationships between articles as derived
from the category assignment.

UNQUOTE

A page describing the design rationale for this information space [AN INFORMATION SPACE DESIGN RATIONALE] by Mark A. Foltz, the Information Space developer'  is available 

  [ http://www.infoarch.ai.mit.edu/jair/jair-space.html ] . 

In addition, Foltz's *outstanding* Master's thesis _Designing Navigable Information Spaces_  (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, May 1998) 

[ http://www.infoarch.ai.mit.edu/publications/mfoltz-thesis/thesis.html] 

provides additional details and graphics about the JAIR project and its Information Space

 [ http://www.infoarch.ai.mit.edu/publications/mfoltz-thesis/node10.html]

The Information Space was designed by the Information Architecture project [  http://www.infoarch.ai.mit.edu/ ] at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory [ http://www.ai.mit.edu/ ]. "The Information Architecture project seeks to create information spaces, where people will use this awareness to search, browse, and learn. In the same way that they navigate in the physical environment, they will navigate through knowledge."

[For any who have attended any of my recent conference presentation, this 
Information Space implementation is a realization of what I have advocated for the past few years! [YES!]

     Words can not adequately describe the Information Space for JAIR; only the experience can convey the true value and impact on this novel index.!
[IMHO: If there's one site that you visit after you dig out from your holiday backlog this is it!]

      I am greatly interested in learning about Any and All other innovative access methods to E-journal content, similar or different than the Information Space.

     As Always, Any and All contributions, questions, critiques, comments, queries, transition teams, cosmic insights, etc. are Most Welcome.

/Gerry McKiernan
Spaced Librarian
Iowa State University
Ames IA 50011

gerrymck at iastate.edu 

             "The Best Way to Predict the Future is to Invent It!"
                                                 Alan Kay